HunterxHunter Side Story
by sketchfan
Summary: The year before Gon's turn,the Hunter's exam.What was it like? What trials were endured?And most importantly,what kind of individuals came and went,becoming the chosen few.Well, here is a tale of a different 4 such people. Written by Kyugan, posted by me.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Notes: Hello from the Emerald Isle, Sketchfan here, rookie author at best, long time fic reader. Now this little gem here was not written by me, but rather by one of my best online buddies/brothers from another mother, Kyugan, author of many fics such as Naruto Kimyou no Bouken (a Naruto/Jojo's Bizarre Adventure fic crossover/au/fusion), Lelouch of the Second Chance,Code Decade:The Rider Rebellion, Sailor Moon GSL:Geass Speed Love,Hina Digger,Code Rider:Zero Knight (check all of them out,and review dammit!) .net/s/5244475/24/Kyugans_Crossover_Corner This chapter first appeared here, and as Kyugan mentions in his author notes for it, he and I sort brainstormed this little idea. For those of you who've never even heard of HunterXHunter, what are you waiting for? It's by the same mangaka as YuYu Hakusho,so go check out the manga and the anime. As he and I agreed,he'll write this, I'll post it on my profile, so again do be so kind as to review, and any and all questions to me, Kyugan has enough on his plate.  
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>Hunter x Hunter: Side Story.<p>

_Strange beasts and monsters…Secret treasures, hoards of undiscovered wealth…mystical places and unexplored frontiers…the mysterious 'unknown'…there are magic in those words…and those that are captivated by their spell…are called HUNTERS._

_Dolle Harbor, morning..._

Dolle Harbor, a quiet, seafaring town that made it' living through sea-trade and fishing, though it also provided a nice quiet spot for people looking to get away from the hassle of life to come and rest.

Despite this, and the numerous amount of people passing through the harbor, the town itself was normally relatively quiet, the very definition of the word 'boring', with most people passing through quickly on their way to the capital city of Zaban, which resided on the other side of a mountain, fraught with magical beasts and other natural hazards.

The only time this quiet, backwater seaport shows any form of activity, is when it is used to usher in those potential candidates for the prestigious Hunter Exam, which is held once a year.

Into this picture, we find a young boy, thirteen at the very most, dressed in an impressively well cut suit and tie, complete with fedora, as he disembarked from one of the many ships that serve to escort such applicants to the port.

'Ugh…' the boy muttered, lifting a handkerchief to cover his mouth and nose at the smell of sea-salt and water that pervaded the dock 'Bracing my foot…I'll be glad to see the back of this place.'

"Feelin' alright there, lad?" the captain asked, one of those crusty, bearded, man-of-the-sea, the old sea-dog leaning against the rail of his vessel as he eyed the survivors of the journey as they staggered off "Land legs giving you trouble?"

"Nothing you need concern yourself with, captain." The boy countered, his tone firm, but nonetheless polite as he inclined his head towards the captain "Thank you for your concern."

"Not at all." The captain assured him, inclining his head towards the youth, pleased to see a young man with such good manners in this day and age. The boy was better spoken, and dressed, than all the other aspirants put together, and had weathered the rough journey over much better as well, as he'd refused to vomit no matter HOW hard the deck rolled beneath his feet "If'n I were you, I'd try makin' my way towards that lone pine atop yon hill there." He offered, pointing to the tree in question in the distance "Good a place as any to start lookin' for the exam hall."

"Much appreciated." The youth offered, inclining his head to the captain in gratitude, before picking up his attaché case "Fair weather to you."

"And to you lad," the captain offered, watching him saunter off with a calm expression, before sighing and turning back to his ship, as there were supplies to be brought on board and they wouldn't oversee themselves.

_Dolle harbor docks... _

"Let's see…" the young man muttered, walking sedately down the docks as he made his way towards the steps which would lead up to the town proper "How to go about finding transport to that pine?"

"GERROF MY SHIP YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" voice roared, the youth looking up just in time to see a black-clad posterior sailing towards him, his eyes widening in alarm, only for the offending backside to slam into his face, sending him crashing into the dock in a tangle of limbs.

"Ow!" the owner of the offending rump swore, getting to his feet, heedless of his impromptu cushion as he began ranting at the one who'd thrown him, a large, make that MASSIVE fisherman, who stood atop a tuna-boat, massive arms crossed across his chest, above his bulging belly "THAT HURT YOU FUCKING GEEZER!"

"It'll hurt MORE if you ever show your face aboard the Kikokumaru again!" the old demon growled, his eyes like miniature thunderstorms as he glared in response.

"HA!" the youth's assaulter scoffed, flipping the bird towards the old man, and the crew amassed behind him "Just you wait! Once I become a Pro-Hunter, I'll come back and sink that tub of yours!"

"You? A Pro-Hunter?" a lanky member of the crew with a pointed chin, ears, and head jeered, making him look like something out of a cheesy horror movie "Yeah right! A runt as short as you wouldn't make it past the toll gate!"

"YOU WANNA SAY THAT TO MY FACE TEME?" the assaulter demanded, rolling up his sleeves as he glared at the man, only to be met with a duffle bag to the face, courtesy of the captain, who barked at the crew to prep to set sail, as they were burning daylight "You just wait!" he yelled as he got to his feet once again "Wash your hair and wait for me, Jerks!"

"It's NECK." The youth muttered, getting to his feet with a grimace as he dusted himself down, checking his suit for damage "The correct saying is to wash their necks, not hair."

"Ah, who asked you?" the assaulter countered, turning to glare at the youth in annoyance, only to blink at the sight of him "For that matter…where the hell'd you come from?"

The youth sighed, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on as he glared at his assaulter balefully as he reaffixed his Fedora. To his surprise, it turned out to be another youth, possibly the same age as him, though at least a head shorter, his two tone hair was styled oddly, the back and sides were shaved, though you could tell they were black, while the top was white, and styled in what resembled a drooping Mohawk. His sun-kissed skin stood out in contrast to his shocking white hair, his face set with one red eye and one blue. He was wearing what looked like an old-school gakuran, complete with trailing coat.

All in all, compared to the suit-clad youth, he looked, and acted, like some sort of stereotypical Highschool thug.

"Hey…" the two-tone teen demanded, snapping the suit clad youth out of his musings to find the thug practically nose to nose with him "You from around here kid?"

"Most assuredly NOT." The youth muttered, frowning in distaste at the breaching of his personal space as he backed away from the two-tone teen "I'm here to apply for the Hunter Exam, much like yourself, going by you're earlier rant."

"You?" the two-tone teen wondered, looking the suit-clad youth up and down with a confused expression on his face "Sure you're dressed for it?"

"I might say the same for YOU." The youth countered, eyeing the other's Gakuran with a look of mild distaste in his eyes, though his features remained neutral.

"Hey! Don't go dissing the threads!" the two-tone teen countered, thumbing the jacket of his Gakuran with a smirk "This' here Gakuran's my trademark! Name's Chino, back home they call me the Knuckle Bomber!"

'Knuckle HEAD-er more like it…' the youth muttered, sighing in exasperation as he turned on his heel, having had more than enough of this conversation.

"Hey where you going?" Chino demanded, the self-proclaimed 'Knuckle Bomber' looking up at the youth in confusion "Aren't you gonna introduce yourself? I figure if we're both going to the exam anyway, we can go together!"

"No." the youth countered, refusing to even look back as he ascended the steps leading up to the town, leaving the two-tone teen behind.

_As the fedora boy walks off... _

"What the hell?" Chino demanded, looking on as the suit-wearing youth just walked off without saying another word "The hell's his problem? You'd think I did something to the guy."

Shrugging offhandedly, he scooped up his duffle bag by the strap and slung it over his shoulder, looking up at the high wall that separated the docks from the town proper with an eager expression "Finally made it." he muttered, a confident smirk forming across his face "Look out Hunter Exam, cause here I come!"

Unbeknownst to the Hunter Hopeful, a third figure had overseen the interchange between him, the crew of the Kikokumaru, and the fedora-sporting youth, the witness sitting on top of a nearby crane, high enough that the entire harbor could be seen, but close enough that the conversations were still audible.

"He looks like fun…" the figure mused, a smile adoring her lips as she stood up, perching easily atop the crane, one knee bent as she put her hands into the pockets of her jeans, her features hidden as the sun shone behind her head "I think I might like this exam…"

_Dolle Harbor town centre... _

"Lessee…" Chino muttered, the gakuran sporting teen looking up at a massive map that displayed the various towns around them "Wait…where was the Hunter's Exam supposed to be held again?"

"Zaban." A voice supplied from behind, the teen turning round, looking up to see a tall man with dark, red-streaked dreadlocks under a beanie hat, dressed in what looked like a basketball vest over a pair of cargo pants "You lost kid?"

"Who you calling kid, old man?" Chino countered, glaring up at the easily six foot man angrily, even as the man scowled down on him.

"Pretty mouthy little runt." The man muttered, leaning down to glare at Chino, the two of them practically nose to nose as lightning sparked between them "Why don't you run along before I send you cryin' for mama?"

"I'd like to see you try." Chino dared, the two of them practically face to face now, the crowd backing away to give them some room, several of them calling out 'fight!', one adventurous local setting up a betting booth nearby, only for them to look up as a nearby speaker announced the last bus of the day was headed for Zaban now.

"Tch…" the dreadlock sporting man muttered, straightening up and spitting off to the side as he glared at Chino "You got lucky brat."

"Same to you shit-locks!" Chino countered, flipping the man the bird as he walked off, seething as the elder man ignored him "Jeez, I keep running into jerks and assholes today, what's with this place?"

"They're just jumpy 'cause the exams so tough." A cheerful voice suggested in his ear, the two-tone teen whipping round, only to get a face full of something soft and squishy, "Well now! Aren't you forward?"

"GAH!" Chino yelped, backing away from the mounds with a jump, looking up to see a tall girl, make that young woman, with exotically tanned skin and features, standing before him, dressed in form fitting blue jeans, boots and a red, woolen tank-top, her black hair pulled into a ponytail, one blue bang hanging over her face.

"Well that's an interesting way to say hello." She mused, smiling at the two-tone teen, one hand on the hip of her jeans, the other loose at her side "You greet everyone like that where you're from?"

"You sneaked up on me!" Chino countered, his hair spiking up as pointed at the woman, goose bumps racing down his frame as his breath quickened "What the hell were you doing sneaking up on me like that?"

"Hmm…" the woman noted, leaning forward so that she was peering into his eyes, Chino's face lighting up as the action caused her breasts to jiggle, only for her to beam at him "I like you, let's be friends!"

"Like hell!" Chino countered, spiking up as he backed away from the pouting, clearly insane foreigner, only to blink, his eyes widening in alarm "Shit! The bus!"

"Oh that left already." The woman explained, straightening up and covering her eyes with one hand, Chino turning to follow her gaze, blanching as he saw the bus had indeed already left.

"Great!" the Hunter Hopeful swore, throwing his hands in the air "That was the last bus of the day! How'm I supposed to get to the exam hall NOW?"

"You could come with me?" the foreign suggested, smiling down at the two-tone teen "I overheard one of the captains say that the best place to start looking is the lone pine atop the hill outside town." She beamed at him "Wanna go together?"

"Like hell!" Chino muttered, shouldering his duffle bag with a frown "Look, thanks for the help, but a real man doesn't need help from a woman." He turned on his heel and walked off "See ya around!"

"The hill's the other way." The woman pointed out, a teasing smile on her face as Chino froze, one foot suspended off the ground in the act of heading off in the wrong direction.

"I knew that!" he snapped, spinning on his heel and marching in the right direction, refusing to look at the woman as he marched past her, his eyes fixed on the lone pine which was visible even from town.

"He's so cute." The foreign woman giggled, sticking her hands in her pockets as she moved to follow the two-tone teen, a smile on her face "This exams gonna be so much fun!"

_Dolle Forest... _

"Seem to be making good time…" the Fedora sporting youth muttered, looking at his pocket watch in approval as he sat under a nearby tree, having left the main highway behind not long ago, and was now making his way up the mountain path "Should reach the summit by noon…"

"WOULD YOU STOP FOLLOWING ME ALREADY?" a familiar voice demanded, the youth looking up in surprise to see the two-tone teen from the docks marching towards him, glaring over his shoulder at a young woman with exotic features "I SAID I'M NOT TRAVELLING WITH YOU!"

"Oh come on-!" the woman pouted, the Fedora clad teen sweat dropping at how immature she sounded despite her figure "Don't be so cruel, Chibinosuke!"

"AND STOP CALLING ME THAT DAMMIT!" the two-tone teen snarled, his head actually enlarging as he spat fire at the unwanted nickname "It's Chino! CHI-NO! Wait! Why am I telling you that? Just stop following me already!"

"Would you mind keeping it down?" the youth demanded, scowling at the newcomers with a hint of annoyance "Or at the very least go somewhere else? I'm trying to rest here, and all your noise is likely to bring a Magical Beast down on us."

"Hey!" Chino exclaimed, pointing at the youth in recollection "I remember you! You're that jerk that brushed me off at the docks!"

'I'm the jerk?' the youth wondered, quirking an eyebrow at the two-tone teen from where he sat beneath the tree 'Big talk coming from the one who uses people as landing pads.'

"Hi there!" a cheery voice greeted, the youth blinking in alarm to find himself face to cleavage with the foreign girl, who was bending over to beam at him in greeting "Are you a friend of Chibinosuke!"

"That's not my name and he's NOT my friend dammit!" Chino countered, the two-tone teen glaring between the two, clearly trying to determine who he despised more at the moment "This jerk just brushed me aside when I asked him if he wanted to ask around for the exam, thinks he's better than everyone else just cause he's got a cheap suit."

"Cheap suit?" the fedora clad teen repeated, eyeing the two-tone teen in disbelief, and no hint of anger "I'll have you know this is a custom Armani original! It probably costs more than your HOUSE."

"Yeah-yeah big whoop!" Chino muttered, glaring at the Fedora sporting teen "So what're you doing here Mr. Too-Big-For-His-Britches? I'd have thought you'd have gotten the bus like the rest of them."

"Don't be absurd." The Fedora sporting youth scoffed, eyeing the irate, shorter teen mockingly from beneath the rim of his hat "Didn't you learn anything on the way over?" he asked, only to shake his head at the two-tone teen's clueless expression "Getting to the Exam hall is PART of the exam, that means all the obvious routes are traps, designed to cull the amount of participants down to a more manageable number." He eyed the pair warily "I don't know how you found out about it, but the pine ahead is said to be the best place to start looking for the exam," he snorted "Maybe you're not as hopeless as I thought."

"Them's fighting words punk!" Chino snapped, his features drawn in a snarl as he lashed out, only for the youth to dodge, one hand on his Fedora "Put 'em up! I've been looking for a reason to cut loose all day!"

"Barbarian." The fedora sporting youth sighed, side-stepping nimbly around the two-tone teen's savage punches, which he noted were rather impressive for someone his age, showing he at least had the skill to back up his words.

"Quit dancing around and come take your licks like a man dammit!" Chino demanded, glaring at the fedora sporting youth as he nimbly sidestepped again "You chicken!"

"Hardly." The youth countered, tone dismissive "I simply see no need to bring myself down to the level of a common brawler."

"Level THIS!" Chino yelled, leaping into the air, earning a whistle of approval from his female tag-along at how high he jumped, the youth grimacing as his vision was obscured by the sun, only to leap back as Chino descended, his foot stamping into a muddy puddle next to where the youth had been standing, spraying mud everywhere.

"Heh," Chino scoffed, smirking confidently at the youth as the latter wiped mud out of his face "Not so squeaky clean now are you?" he scoffed, smirking as he espied the youth's fedora lying in the mud "Was aiming for your HEAD, but oh well."

"You little…" the youth muttered, Chino shivering as he picked up the Fedora, glaring at the mud adorning it before setting it aside with his attaché case "You'll pay for that…"

"Check's in the mail!" Chino jeered, racing in with his fist drawn back for a haymaker, only to twitch, leaping back, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Chibinosuke?" the two-tone teen's tag-along wondered, only to blink as the trunk of a tree between the duo suddenly developed several gashes, branches falling to the ground from above.

"You're pretty good to see that coming." The Fedora sporting teen mused, his tone mildly impressed, though laced with anger, his fingers twitching, light catching off of several glistening threads as they danced around him like snakes, "I was planning to cut off your arm." His eyes narrowed as a small cut bled on the two-tone teen's cheek "Still, you couldn't dodge it completely.

"Filament wires…?" Chino muttered, eyeing the numerous dancing threads with a hint of wariness as he scowled "You got weird tastes man…you some sort of killer dentist or something?"

"Or something." The youth countered, his tone unexpressive as he glared at the teen "Not that it's going to matter to you in a minute."

"Heh…" Chino scoffed, shaking his head as he got to his feet, unfastening the buttons of his Gakuran jacket with one hand "You really think something like THIS is gonna scare me off?" he snorted, his hand moving down the buttons in order "Still, good to see you got some balls under that bad suit…" he threw his jacket off, revealing a loose red, sleeveless shirt that was tucked into his pants, and an ornate oriental dragon stitched into the underside of his jacket "But too bad for you, I'm the main character here!"

_Dolle forest... _

'What does he think this is, a shounen manga?' the youth wondered, eyeing the two-tone teen with an exasperated expression, only to blink as the two-tone teen disappeared "Where-?"

"WHEE!" the foreign woman from before squealed, having tackled Chino from the side with a projectile glomp, pressing the struggling two-tone teen's face into her cleavage as she held him off the ground by his neck "Chibinosuke! So cool!"

"AIR!" Chino screamed, trying to extract himself from the woman's surprisingly strong embrace, his arms and legs waving wildly as he fought to breath "Dammit! Get off me you damn milk tank! I'm in the middle of a fight here!"

"No." the youth finished, sighing in restrained amusement, his anger dissipating in the face of the scene playing out before him "We're done here…the moods' just not right anymore."

"The hell?" Chino demanded, trying to wriggle out of the woman's embrace, only to fail miserably as she continued to glomp him "You running away teme?"

"HARDLY." The youth countered, removing a hanky and slowly beginning to remove the mud from his fedora with careful swipes "It's simply getting late, and I'd much rather get to the pine before the sun goes down." He eyed the duo before him as he replaced his fedora on his head "We seem to be going the same way, so I suppose I can put up with the pair of you for that long."

"Who the hell would go with you-?" Chino began, only to choke as the woman, still holding him by the neck, suddenly leapt over and scooped up the youth, pulling them both into a group hug, their cheeks pressed into her chest.

"YAY!" she cheered, heedless of the two male's struggles as she held them close "We got a new friend Chibinosuke!"

"My name's Chino dammit!" the shorter teen swore, finally managing to break free, landing on his feet alongside the suit-clad youth, who despite being red faced from mortification, was happy to be able to breathe without getting a mouthful of Mammary in the process "And he's not our friend!"

"But Chibinosuke!" the girl pouted, her features taking on an almost feline expression as she knelt down to look at the two-tone teen "Traveling is more fun with friends!"

"It's certainly more interesting…" the youth muttered, earning an exasperated look from Chino and a kitty smile from the woman, causing him to clear his throat and look away, dusting off his Fedora.

"Tch, Fine!" Chino swore, throwing his arms in the air before scooping up his discarded Gakuran jacket, slinging it over one shoulder as he scowled at the youth "you can tag along, but only as far as the tree!"

"Yay!" the girl cheered, jumping excitedly in the air before beaming at the youth "Oh! I'm Nikia by the way! And this is Chibinosuke!"

"Dokuro." The youth greeted, smiling at the pair as he affixed his Fedora onto his head, looking on as Chino's rant regarding the nickname was silenced by another glomp "Nice to meet you."

_And that's cut and print! Consider this the prologue/first chapter a taste of what's to come. Upcoming chapters_ _in the future will come when I get them from Kyugan. As Kyugan also mentioned, many of you will recognize my OCs Dok, Chino and Nikia. Here in this series they will have completely different backgrounds and personalities, as Nikia and Chino show (though Chino isn't all that different) and just to clarify, while this is set in the same world as Hunter x Hunter, it is set a full year BEFORE Gon enterred the Exam, and as Satotz explained, the exam differs from year to year, so Chino and co will face different challenges than Gon and the gang will be a few OC characters, as well as cameos from other series_ _ and as Kyugan-bro explained, we've already decided on their nen abilities so if you're writing about that, don't. What they are? What's Nen? Well to answer the first question, you'll have to wait and see. The second question, check HunterxHunter, which goes into great detail_ _on Nen. Anyways, again do please review, us authors need them, and hope you all look forward to the next chapter. Ciao for now.  
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	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Notes: And welcome to Chapter 2 of HxH side story. For those of you who've never heard of this series, checkout the respective anime and manga, especially the upcoming new anime series being done by Studio Madhouse. Anyways last chapter we met Dokuro, Chino, and Nikia, as an unusual union was formed, the trio seeking their way to the Hunter exams. How will they fare? Read on and find out._ _Oooh! Almost forgot, disclaimer: This is written by Kyugan and posted by me, neither of us own HunterXhunter it belongs to its respective owners, the only thing either of us own are the OCs that appear in this, we make no profit from this, this is for our enjoyment._

Chapter 2.

Hunters: People devoted to tracking down rare and priceless items, be they treasures or monsters or wonders unknown.

_Such pursuits require a license, obtained only after passing a rigorous qualification exam. The pass rate is said to be less than One in a Hundred Thousand._

"What a dump…" Chino muttered, the self-proclaimed Knuckle Bomber looking around in disgust, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his Gakuran trousers as the trio stepped into the deserted town, more of a slum composed of several back-alleys, leading off from a trash strewn main road "Can't imagine anyone setting up an exam here."

"I agree." Dokuro muttered, the fedora sporting teen eyeing the trash littering the streets in distaste as they walked along, resisting the urge to whip out his handkerchief, as he didn't want the smell to stick to it "Let's just get through here quickly, before the natives get restless."

"Noticed them too huh?" Chino muttered, the gakuran-sporting teen's mismatched eyes flicking towards the fedora-sporting brunet as they moved along, Nikia bringing up the rear, the only one of the three that looked relaxed

"They've been watching us since we arrived." Dokuro revealed, the fedora sporting teen's tone quiet as his eyes flicked about, watching for the slightest hint of an ambush from under the rim of his hat "Though I can't tell where they're watching from."

"They've got us surrounded." Nikia supplied, the foreign teen sounding amused of all things as the younger teens turned to look at her "I can hear them move," she explained, pointing at her ears with a cat-like grin "they've been closing in ever since we showed up."

"And you didn't think to tell us this, WHY?" Chino demanded, the two-tone teen spiking up as he glared at the elder girl, his spiked head enlarging in his fury.

"I thought it'd be more fun this way!" Nikia replied, holding up a finger as she beamed at the shorter teen, giggling as Chino made fruitless strangling motions towards her neck, which was easily out of his reach, even as Dokuro pinched the bridge of his nose "Ah!" she exclaimed, pointing behind the duo "They're here!"

The two teens spun round, Chino's fists clenched and at the ready, Dokuro shifting his attaché case to his left hand, his right twitching, readying his wires as a group of cloaked individuals in identical gas masks shuffled into view, mumbling to themselves as they blocked the way forward.

"Creepy lookin' bunch…" Chino muttered, the Knuckle Bomber smirking in anticipation as he eyed the human blockade eagerly "Betcha I can take down more than you two."

"Is that a challenge Chibinosuke?" Nikia asked, earning a glare from the two-tone teen for the unappreciated nickname "How's about if I win, you gotta go out with me?"

"Like hell!" Chino snapped, the masked roadblock forgotten as he glared up at the elder teen, hackles raised as he pointed at her face "And stop calling me that you Milk Tank!"

"Quiet…" Dokuro muttered, the fedora sporting teen's eyes narrowing as the masked group parted, admitting a little old woman with a staff to the fore, the trio's eyes narrowing as she looked them over.

"How exciting…" the old woman muttered, the trio tensing as she inhaled, bracing themselves for her order to attack, her eyes opening wide as she yelled "Time for the Mind-Boggling Two Choice Quiz!"

Chino face faulted, his leg twitching sporadically while the other two sweat dropped, looks of confusion on their faces as the masked group applauded the old hag's announcement like a cheesy game show audience. "WHAT THE HELL?" the two-tone teen demanded, leaping to his feet, his features enraged as he pointed at the hag, stamping his foot for emphasis "WHAT THE HECK DO YOU MEAN BY 'QUIZ'?"

"You three are heading up towards that lone Pine Tree on the hill, right?" the old woman noted, apparently ignoring Chino's rage, much to the teen's ire "Well you have to pass through this town to get there, the other mountain trails are mazes that wind through the lairs of Magical Beasts."

'Looks like my guess was right…' Dokuro muttered, his features hardening at this revelation, only to look up as the crone raised a finger.

"To advance, you must first correctly answer ONE Question." The old woman informed them, a withered smile on her face "You will have five seconds to do so." She lowered the digit, peering each of the teens in the eye "Answer incorrectly and you fail, no Hunter License for any of you this year."

"Just like the captain…" Dokuro muttered, even as Chino got to his feet "This woman's an examiner, her jobs to whittle down the number of entrants." He inclined his head "So how do we go about this test of yours?"

"You must answer the question with either 'One' or 'Two'," the crone explained "Any other answer, no matter how clever, and you fail."

"Wha-We only get one answer between the three of us?" Chino exclaimed, the two-tone terror looking incensed as he jabbed his finger at the other two "You tellin' me if these two botch it, I'll fail?"

"Speak for yourself why don't you?" Dokuro muttered, eyeing the knuckle bomber with a hint of irritation "I didn't come this far to be dragged down by you."

"Hm…" Nikia wondered, the foreign teen holding her chin, apparently ignoring the other two as they got into a fistfight "The way I see it, is that we all put our heads together to get the answer!"

"That…makes a lot of sense…" Chino muttered, his hands frozen in the act of throttling Dokuro, the Fedora sporting teen's fingers halting in their bid to separate the teen's head from his shoulders.

"What's the holdup?" a voice demanded, the trio looking round to see a punk with dyed orange hair and an ugly face behind them "You're holdin' up the line brats."

"You wanna say that again fugly?" Chino demanded, only to blink as Dokuro stepped forwards, holding a hand between them.

"By all means, play through." The Fedora sporting teen insisted, gesturing towards the old woman as he spoke "We're still thinking it over."

"Huh," the punk snorted, sneering down at the younger teens, shooting Nikia an approving glance as he passed "Good ta see you brats know the pecking order around here."

"Say that to my face you-!" Chino began, only to trail off as Dokuro put him in a headlock, glaring around the gloved hand clamped over his mouth, only to blink at the serious expression on the fedora sporting teen's face.

"This is a good opportunity for us." Dokuro hissed, keeping his voice down as he dragged the other teen away from the punk "This way we can see what types of question she asks and prepare an answer."

"The Question is as follows:" the hag muttered "Rogues have taken your Mother and True Love hostage, and you may only rescue one." She held up a finger "One: Your Mother," she held up another "Two: Your True Love." She lowered her fingers and eyed the punk "Which do you save?"

"THE HELL KINDA QUESTION IS THAT?" Chino demanded, the gakuran sporting teen's features locked in a mask of fury even as Dokuro and Nikia frowned in response, the old woman slowly counting down, heedless of his anger "HOW IN THE HECK'S ANYONE SUPPOSED TO CHOOSE?"

'He's right there…'Dokuro admitted, the fedora sporting teen frowning in thought as he eyed the crone warily, wondering what the trick was 'A question like that is laced with uncertain variables…' he eyed the punk, who had a certain look in his eyes 'are we supposed to simply guess the answer she prefers?'

"My True Love." The punk spoke up, sneering down at the old hag as he spoke "My mother's dead already, and like hell I'd care if she was caught."

"I see…" the old woman muttered, turning to commune with the people behind her, who stepped aside, revealing the road ahead "You may pass."

"Heh, Later losers!" the punk sneered, waving over his shoulder "If you make it past this point, remember this name! Oshima! 'cause it's the only one that's passin' this exam!"

That said the cocky thug sauntered off, the masked crowd eerily silent as he past, slowly shuffling back into place, blocking his retreating form from view as he made his way down the street, laughing all the while.

"What the hell?" Chino demanded, the two-tone teen red in the face and seething as he glared after Oshima, the thug's raucous laughter still echoing in his ears "The hell kinda quiz you running you old bat? Just how'd you let a guy like that pass on to the next stage?"

'He's right…' Dokuro muttered, his features grim beneath his fedora as he blotted out the shorter teen's shouts of rage 'There's no right answer to a question like that…to think they would let someone so crass advance to the next stage…just what are they looking for in applicants?'

"You know what?" Chino stated, the Knuckle Bomber getting in the old woman's face, his mismatched eyes glaring into her own as he flipped her off "You can stuff your quiz up there with your prunes! I'm finding another way to the exam!"

"There is no other way." The old woman countered, apparently non-plussed, or unimpressed, with the hoodlum's rage as he turned on his heel to march off "Not for any of you. Leave if you wish, but say farewell to you license if you do."

"Why I oughta-!" Chino began, whipping round, looking ready to pound the old prune's face into jam, only to blink as a hand landed on his shoulder, looking up to see Nikia gazing down the road Oshima took.

"I think we should listen to her, Chibinosuke…" the foreign girl muttered, her eyes and tone unusually serious, the playfulness from earlier gone "Up ahead…"

"No more chit-chat!" the crone called out, holding up a wrinkled hand with a serious expression on her wizened face, eyeing the foreign teen warily "Any more unnecessary remarks and you all fail!" she added, eyeing the trio equally, though her eyes rested mainly on a seething Chino as the teen shrugged off Nikia's hand "Answer 1: You'll take the Quiz, or 2: You'll Quit?"

"One!" Dokuro called out, the fedora sporting teen eyeing Nikia out the corner of his eye as the foreign teen slapped a hand over Chino's mouth to keep the Knuckle Bomber from swearing at the woman, too angry to care if they failed 'She's noticed something…' he reasoned, eyes narrowing beneath the brim of his hat 'Something must've happened up ahead…could it be…?'

"Here's the question:" the old woman posed, the group stiffening as she leveled her solemn, wizened stare at them once again "Your son and daughter have been kidnapped, you can only rescue one." She held up a finger again "One: Your Daughter?" she held up another "Two: Your Son?"

'The same question again?' Dokuro wondered, even as Chino raged, the two-tone teen held off the ground by Nikia's arms around his head, his fists and feet kicking wildly in the old woman's directions curses muffled 'She can't really expect us to answer something like that based on preference alone can she? There HAS to be some sort of trick we're missing!'

"Three…Two…One…" the old hag muttered, looking up at the trio with a solemn expression as she lowered her fingers "Time's up."

"LIKE HELL IT IS!" Chino raged, the Knuckle Bomber finally getting his mouth clear of Nikia's arms as he snarled at the old woman and the masked group behind her, his legs thrashing as he fought to break free "LEMME GO MILK TANK!" he snarled, glaring at the woman and her groupies furiously "I'M GONNA KICK THAT OLD BAT'S DENTURES IN!"

"And what good would that do you?" the crone demanded, looking up at the two-tone teen with a hint of amusement "You've already passed the test."

"Buh?" Chino wondered, the two-tone teen's motion halting altogether as he hung in Nikia's embrace, staring at the crone, completely befuddled, even as the masked group behind the crone broke out in applause "Uh…did I…miss something here?"

"I get it…" Dokuro muttered, the fedora sporting teen smirking to himself as he shook his head, one hand tilting the rim of his hat lower on his face "To think it was so simple…"

"Oi!" Chino demanded, turning to look at his fellow Hunter Aspirant in annoyance "Care to share with the rest of the class genius? What the hell's she talking about! We didn't answer her stupid question!"

"And that's just it." Dokuro explained, looking the others in the eye from beneath the brim of his Fedora "The correct answer was to NOT give an answer." He sighed at the continued look of confusion on Chino's face before deciding to elaborate "You said it yourself right?" he pointed out, holding up a finger for emphasis "There was no 'right' choice to the questions posed." He gestured to the crone with his thumb "When the 'Quiz' started, the old woman said we could answer either 'One' or 'Two'…" he raised a finger to his lips in a shushing motion "But she never said we HAD to answer at all."

"You're kidding…" Chino wondered, steam coming out of his ears as his mind tried to catch up with what was going on, only to blink, face turning livid as he recalled something that belied the other teen's logic "But…that punk-ass Oshima-!"

"She only said he could GO, Chibinosuke…" Nikia purred, the foreign teen snuggling her face into the irate Knuckle Bomber's hair as she held him back against her chest like the world's most irritable plushy "She never said he was RIGHT." She tilted her head towards the lone pine tree "I heard him scream not too long ago, sounds like he ran into a magical beast."

"Which means…" Dokuro deduced, ignoring Chino's attempts to free himself from the foreign teen's clutches as he thumbed over his shoulder to the street Oshima had haplessly marched down to his doom "This ISN'T the right path."

"You're absolutely correct young man." The old woman agreed, her features seeming to become much younger as she smiled at the trio, inclining her head to the masked onlookers, two of which shuffled over to a seemingly solid store wall, pulling it in half to reveal a pair of doors, behind which lay a hidden tunnel "THIS is the REAL door." She explained, looking towards it solemnly "It's a plain trail, no branches or forks, so you SHOULD reach the summit in two hours at a decent pace."

Chino gaped, having managed to break free from Nikia's unwanted advances for the moment, looking between the path Oshima took and the true path with a dazed expression on his face.

"Man…" the Knuckle Bomber muttered, turning to face the old woman with an apologetic expression on his face, his eyes downcast as he rubbed the back of his head "Sorry about before…" he muttered looking decidedly awkward as he recalled his prior behavior and harsh words "Especially the denture comment."

"That's quite alright young man." The old woman chuckled, smiling at the teen, looking for all the world like a sanguine grandmother whose grandchild had done something mildly amusing "People like you make this job interesting," she smirked at him mischievously "And it's not like you could've taken me anyways."

"Wanna bet?" Chino bragged, grinning at her confidently, only to curse as the business end of the old woman's cane slammed onto his head, "OW! Shit that hurts!"

"We'll leave it at that and call it even." The old woman chuckled, smiling mischievously as her masked entourage shuffled forwards, pushing the group into the tunnel and shutting the doors behind them "Good luck with the rest of the exam!"

"Crazy old bitch!" Chino swore, holding the top of his two-toned head as he glared at the spot the doors had occupied behind him, the tunnel dark, lit only by the faint sunlight shining from the exit in the distance "Even my ass! Just wait till I get my hands on her-!"

"Save it." Dokuro muttered, looking down at his pocket watch, eyes squinting in the near-darkness as he tried to make out the time "She said it would take us two hours to make it to the peak, I'd like to get out of here while there's still daylight."

"You ain't the boss of me dammit!" Chino muttered, though he assented to the fedora-sporting teen's logic, stuffing his hands into his trouser pockets, before looking over his shoulder "You comin' milk tank?" he demanded, only to blink as she remained where she was "Oi, you okay?"

"Hmm…" Nikia hummed, holding her elbow, the other hand supporting her chin as she stood in silent contemplation, her brows furrowed in thought, only to open her eyes with a defeated laugh "No good! I can't figure out an answer!"

"The hell?" Chino demanded, eyeing the taller teen in exasperation, even as Dokuro quirked an eyebrow in confusion "Didn't you here what Doc said? There WAS no right answer!"

"It's Dokuro," the Fedora sporting teen corrected with a small frown "not DOC, please don't go assigning nicknames." He ignored Chino as the delinquent flipped him off in favor of peering at Nikia "and Nikia-san, it's alright, we've already passed you don't need to think about it anymore."

"I know that…" Nikia assured him, her features concerned as she looked at the younger teens, both hands held out for emphasis "It's just, what if we have to make a choice like that for real one day?"

Dokuro blinked, only to fall silent, the Fedora sporting teen's eyes turning downcast, staring at the floor as he held his chin in thought, trying to puzzle over this surprisingly deep train of thought the foreign teen had awakened.

'She's right…' he muttered, wondering if this was the TRUE purpose of the old woman's test, it certainly made a lot more sense NOW that he thought of it 'The world isn't 'Black or White' like people say…but that doesn't change the fact that sometimes hard choices have to be made…' he grimaced as he held his chin 'In that case…if it really comes down to it…what would I-?'

POW!

Dokuro yelped, his train of thought completely derailed as a fist plowed into his head, knocking his fedora to the ground. "What the hell?" he demanded, righting himself with a glare at the perpetrator of the unfounded assault "What was that for?"

"That's why I hate you serious types…" Chino muttered, rubbing his knuckles from where they'd made contact with the taller teen's skull "You take everything too damn seriously."

"I don't want to hear that from someone that does all his thinking with his fists!" Dokuro snapped back, grabbing the shorter teen by the front of his Gakuran "She asked a serious question! What would YOU do in that situation?"

"Who knows?" Chino countered, his eyes surprisingly calm in the face of Dokuro's anger, his mismatched eyes gazing into the other teen's solemnly "What happens in the future happens," he explained, looking the confused teen in the face "if I spend all my time worrying about it I'll miss what's going on in front of me." He scowled "If something like that happens, I'll deal with it when I get there…" he smirked "That's my answer."

Dokuro blinked, gaping at the shorter teen in the near-darkness of the tunnel, to stunned to speak, only to scoff, closing his eyes and shaking his head in disbelief.

"You really are a simple bastard aren't you?" he asked, releasing the front of Chino's Gakuran and turning on his heel "Good grief, there really is no cure for stupidity."

"You asking for another punch there, smart-ass?" Chino demanded, raising his fist threateningly, veins bulging on the side of his head, only to choke as he was scooped up in a bear hug from a gushing Nikia "DAMMIT MILK TANK!"

"CHIBINOSUKE'S SO COOL!" the foreign teen cheered, hugging the struggling Knuckle Bomber to her chest like a plushy once more.

"STOP CALLING ME THAT DAMMIT!" Chino countered, trying to glare up at the taller teen, and failing spectacularly since one eyes was currently being smooshed by her chest "Oi! Doc! Get this Milk Tank off me!"

"Sorry," Dokuro countered sweetly, picking up his Fedora from where it had fallen, dusting the hat off before placing it on his head "Afraid I don't know anyone like that, Chibinosuke…"

"OH YOU BITCH!" Chino roared, making threatening gestures towards the fedora sporting teen with his free hand, even as Nikia continued to hug him close, the trio making their way down the tunnel, the Knuckle Bomber's curses trailing in their wake.

_A/N:AND CUT! That's chapter 2 for now. And so our intrepid trio of misfits have passed the first hurdle on their journey to their Hunter's licences. And believe you me, if you've read or seen the series, you can expect what comes next won't be easy? What's next? You'll see, await the next chapter with anticipation. And remember review, reviews are our bread and butter folks, especially if you have questions. Ciao for now._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3.

_Navigators: The Hunter Exam s held at a different place each year. It is the job of Navigators to know where it is, and guide promising Hunter Applicants there. It is all but impossible to reach the hall without their guidance._

The hall is deliberately hard to find, and the path is strewn with traps to whittle down the number of applicants. Any applicant who gets through screening must find a navigator, and then prove to the navigator that he or she is worthy.

"Two hours my ass…" Chino muttered, the two-tone terror glaring around the dense woodlands surrounding their path in distaste "I'm starting to think that old woman screwed us over!"

"Hate to admit it, but I think you're right…" Dokuro muttered, ignoring the glare the Gakuran sporting teen leveled in his direction in favor of pulling out his pocket watch "It's been almost four hours since we've started…" he noted with a frown "not only that but the sun's already set."

"Don't tell me we're gonna have to rough it out here?" Chino demanded, eyeing the woods in apprehension "Aw man…I didn't wanna bring this up but I REALLY need to take a dump…"

"Charming…" Dokuro muttered, his lip curling in disgust, before shaking his head and pointing off to the side "Just go behind a bush why don't you?"

"At this stage I could care less…" Chino muttered, holding himself as he crab-walked towards the nearest patch of foliage, before glaring over his shoulder "And don't you try to peek on me Milk Tank!"

"Moi?" Nikia asked, a catlike smile adorning the elder teen's face as she batted her eyes with false innocence "Why Chibinosuke, whatever do you mean?"

"You know EXACTLY what I mean…" Chino growled, his mismatched eyes narrowing at her one last time, before the gurgling in his stomach caused him to waddle awkwardly into the undergrowth.

"Barbarian…" Dokuro scoffed, shaking his head as the sounds of Chino rustling through the undergrowth, opening one eye to frown at Nikia "Don't even think about it."

"Aww…" Nikia pouted, the elder teen putting a finger to her lips as she unleashed the puppy eyes "I wasn't going to do anything bad…"

"Nonetheless, I'd rather you refrained from starting an incident while we're out here." Dokuro muttered, completely unaffected by the eyes as he thumbed towards a nearby sign "We're in Magical Beast Territory, I'd rather avoid making any unnecessary noise."

"HEY WHAT THE HELL?!" an enraged voice demanded, the duo looking in the direction Chino had gone in alarm "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE AIMING MIDGET!"

"WHO YOU CALLIN' MIDGET SHITLOCKS?!" came Chino's enraged response, the sound of a fistfight breaking out two seconds later, Dokuro and Nikia looking on in wonderment as the combatants rolled out of the foliage, a literal cloud of fists, feet and testosterone laced stupidity.

"Don't…say…a word…" Dokuro muttered, his eyebrow twitching as held up one finger to silence Nikia, who was looking highly amused at this latest turn of events, the fedora sporting teen setting his suitcase aside, before lashing out with his wires.

"Hey what the hell-?!" Chino demanded, yelping as he was yanked out of combat and suspended in the air, his pants around his ankles, by the fedora sporting teen's wires "What the hell Doc?! I was winning!"

"The hell you were midget!" came the angry response, the owner the man with red-streaked dreadlocks from Dolle Harbor town, who was likewise suspended in mid-air with his pants down "And get me down from here you little bondage freak!"

"As you wish…" Dokuro muttered, a vein bulging on his Fedora as he twitched his wires, recalling them back into his sleeves as the hapless duo fell to the ground headfirst, their curses filling the night sky.

"Fuck!" Chino swore, glaring at the fedora sporting teen from the corner of his eye "A little warning next time doc?! I coulda gotten brain damage!"

"I doubt that…" Dokuro muttered, shaking his head with a snort "There'd have to be something to DAMAGE first."

"Why I oughta!" Chino began, only to freeze, looking up to find Nikia crouching before him, cupping her cheeks with a decidedly catlike smile on her face "What?"

"Chibinosuke's not so shabby downstairs…" the elder teen noted, Chino following her gaze, only to leap to his feet with a shriek, pulling his pants up with a mortified expression "So cute."

"You're a freak!" Chino snapped, pointing at the foreign teen, his hackles raised even as Dokuro held the bridge of his nose in irritation, the dreadlock sporting man blinking between them in confusion.

"What the hell?" the newcomer muttered, which in Dokuro's opinion, pretty much summarized the situation nicely.

"So you're name's Ron…" Dokuro muttered, looking up at the dreadlock sporting teen as they walked along the path, trying to diffuse the situation, as Chino and the dreadlock sporting teen hadn't stopped glaring at each other the entire time "First time applying?."

"Pretty much…" Ron admitted, deciding to ignore Chino for the moment, the Knuckle Bomber promptly boasting he'd 'won' their staring contest "Same for you right? I saw you back at the harbor."

"Hey!" Chino exclaimed, looking up at the dreadlock sporting teen in confusion "Didn't you get on the bus? What're you doing here?"

"You kidding me?" Ron demanded, eyeing the two-tone terror like he was an idiot "The bus was obviously a trap, it circled the entire town all day without going anywhere."

"I figured as much…" Dokuro muttered, even as Chino gaped at them in confusion "If it was so simple to get to the exam there wouldn't be a need to cull the number of applicants."

"True that." Ron agreed, eyeing the fedora sporting teen with a hint of approval "In any case, I memorized the route from the map, then rode it until it came close enough to the mountain before getting off, made my way this far using one of the back roads."

"What about the magical beasts?" Nikia asked, the foreign teen looking up at the dreadlock sporting teen curiously as she slumped on top of chino as they walked along, her boobs resting on his head, much to his irritation.

"I've got some experience roughing it." Ron admitted with a smirk, thumbing at himself with a confident air "I can tell when a Magical beast's in the area by reading the trail signs, I was making my way up to that Pine Tree on the hill when I stopped to take a leak…" he scowled at Chino "You know the rest."

"Indeed." Dokuro muttered, shaking his head at their first meeting with the dreadlock sporting teen, and how long it had taken for them to separate him and Chino long enough to agree to a truce.

"Question!" Nikia asked, raising her hand in the air, still resting atop an increasingly more irritable Chino's head "Why're we heading there?"

"There's supposed to be a couple that live under the tree that are Navigators." Ron revealed with a solemn expression, though he shot Chino an amused look "Some old guy I helped out in town told me if I give a good impression, they'll show me the way to the exam hall."

"So you're pretty much screwed then." Chino snorted, smirking at the taller teen even as Ron glared at him heatedly.

"Enough already." Dokuro ordered, glaring at the two pointedly, "There's no need for all this infighting." Nodding his head towards a dim light in the distance "I can see the cabin up ahead. Like it or not, we're in this together, and if we're supposed to impress the couple the last thing we need is showing up on their doorstep looking like we just came back from a fistfight."

Chino and Ron scowled, glaring at each other heatedly, before snorting and averting their eyes from one another, Nikia giggling at how childish they were behaving, even as Dokuro led the way up to the cabin under the lone pine.

"Finally made it…" Chino muttered, looking up at the humble structure before them with a hint of annoyance "Seriously, who in the hell lives all the way out here?"

"I think it's nice!" Nikia reasoned, smiling to herself as she listened to an owl call and the thrilling of crickets in the underbrush "It's so lively out here, and you can see the stars!"

"So long as it's got indoor plumbing and cable I could care less." Chino muttered, shivering as he held his stomach "Thanks to shit locks here I never got to finish my business earlier…"

"I think I see an outhouse around back…" Dokuro muttered, cutting off Ron's angry retort as he pointed to a small, shed-like structure just behind the main house, only to blink as Chino waddled towards it awkwardly "Wait! You can't just use someone's toilet without permission!"

"Believe me, I'll thank them when I'm done!" Chino moaned, the two-tone terror's face grimacing as he let off little bursts of gas with each step, opening the door of the shed, only to grimace "SWEET JEEZUS IT STINKS IN HERE!"

"Oh good grief…" Dokuro muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose "Look, hold your breath and hurry up, or keep the door open if it's that bad."

"Like hell!" Chino swore, glaring at Nikia over his shoulder, who kitty-smiled in response, the very picture of false-innocence "Ah screw it!" he muttered, taking a breath before rushing in and slamming the door shut.

"He's a real riot that one…" Ron snorted, shaking his head as Dokuro held Nikia back by her belt to keep her from tip-toeing towards the outhouse "How'd you three hook up?"

"Long story…" Dokuro muttered, shaking his head in irritation, praying against hope that the navigators had some aspirin to kill his headache "Let's just get in and apologize to whoever's in there."

"Whatever you say…" Ron chuckled, marching up the steps of the wooden patio to knock on the door "Yo! Anyone home?" he called out, only to frown as no reply came.

"That's weird…" Dokuro muttered, eyeing the light from within "There's light…but it's obviously not from a fireplace or the chimney would be smoking…someone has to be up."

"Or Some-THING." Ron muttered, drawing the younger teen's gaze to a series of scratches around the door handle, FAR to long to be those of a family pet.

Dokuro frowned, tossing his attaché case to Nikia as he pressed up against the other side of the door, readying his wires, Ron slipping a folding switchblade out of his pocket as he gripped the door handle, the two of them nodding to one another as the elder of the two slowly opened the door to gaze inside.

"H-help…" a weak voice pleaded, a wounded man with woodland clothing reaching imploringly towards the doorway, the room around him completely thrashed, the culprit responsible holding a struggling woman in it's clutches as it glared at the intruders.

"Kill…" it hissed, it's long, vulpine like features drawn back in a snarl, before lunging at the doorway, faster than anything it's size had right to be "Kill…kill…kill!"

"A Kiriko!" Ron swore, leaping back just in time to avoid having his head bitten off by the beast as it burst through the doorway, taking it's screeching hostage with it "Dammit! He's getting away!"

"You go after it!" Dokuro ordered, rushing forwards to examine the wounded man on the floor before them even as Ron took after the beast "Nikia! My case!"

"Here!" the foreigner offered, holding it out, her eyes widening as Dokuro cracked it open, revealing a change of clothes, and several survival supplies "Wow! You came prepared!"

"Just the bare essentials." The teen countered, drawing out an emergency needle and a bottle of morphine "The Hunter Exam has a fatality clause written into it's application form, if you die in the attempt, the committee isn't held responsible, so it's wise to prepare for anything."

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" a familiar voice roared outside, the duo looking up just in time to see the outhouse go rolling down the side of the hill.

"Aaah…" Chino sighed, a smile of absolute bliss adorning his features as he sat in the dank, smelly outhouse "That's so much better…"

Sighing in contentment, the Knuckle Bomber was eagerly reaching for the roll of toilet paper that adorned the wall, eager to get out of here and into the house proper, when the door slammed open, the tall shadow blocking the moonlight outside snarling down at him, only to freeze, covering it's nose with a howl of anguish.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Chino roared, his fist ramming into the interloper's stomach, doubling it over so that he could see its face "IT'S OCCUPIED DAMMIT!"

The beast loosed a choked howl, clearly trying to avoid breathing through it's nose as it struggled to get out of the pungent outhouse, but Chino, who didn't enjoy being interrupted in his 'business' had gotten a good hold on one of it's ears and wasn't letting go without a fight.

"ORAAAAAAAAAA-!" the knuckle Bomber roared, dragging the struggling Kiriko into the outhouse with him, the door slamming shut behind the beast, it's yelps of pain and growls of fury intermingled with the sound of fists and claws clashing in a battle for dominance.

So fierce was the battle within that the outhouse actually began to jump about, tilting this way and that before finally toppling over sideways and rolling down the hill, Chino's howls of 'SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT-!' trailing in it's wake.

"Good grief…" Dokuro muttered, sweat dropping at the sheer absurdity of what he'd just seen through the window as he shook his head.

"Chibinosuke's in trouble!" Nikia exclaimed, looking distraught at the idea of the diminutive Applicant fighting for his life in such a predicament "Should I go help him?"

"Don't worry about that idiot." Dokuro muttered dismissively, his tone deadpan "I'd be more worried about whatever's locked inside with him." he waved a hand at the taller teen dismissively "I've got things covered here, go check on Ron, see if he's found that other one yet."

"Got it!" Nikia agreed, turning on her heel and racing out the door after the dreadlock sporting teen, leaving Dokuro with his patient.

"That should do it…" the fedora sporting teen muttered, wrapping the last of the man's injuries tightly before packing the rest back into his case "Anything else hurt?"

"I can't thank you enough…" the man offered, looking up at the teen gratefully despite his wounds, one hand going to his shoulder "But my Wife…please get my wife back…"

"Don't worry, we'll get her back." Dokuro assured him, placing a hand on the man's wrist, his eyes suddenly going cold "Now then…why don't you quit horsing around and tell me what's REALLY going on?"

"What…?" the man demanded, only to flinch, eyes widening as something, make that several somethings, wrapped around his limbs.

"You really think I wouldn't notice?" Dokuro asked, his gloved fingers tensing as the light shone off his wires "Your wounds were superficial at best, I doubt a magical beast would cause this much destruction without leaving more lasting injuries." He glared at the bound man before him "Also…some of the BLOOD I wiped off when cleaning your 'wounds' FADED, as if it wasn't really there, which means it's an illusion."

The man flinched inside his constraints, only to smirk, his face splitting into an unnatural vulpine leer as Dokuro looked on impassively.

"Dammit!" Ron swore, the dreadlock sporting teen looking round a deserted clearing ringed by trees desperately, his switchblade in hand "Where'd that furry little bastard go?!

"Mr. Dreads!" a voice called out, the beanie sporting teen turning just in time to see Nikia racing towards him "Doc-kun sent me to help!"

"Back up!" Ron barked, whipping round and aiming his knife at the girl "Just stay right where you are!"

"Huh?" Nikia wondered, looking confused as she nonetheless complied, coming to a halt a good ten feet away from the teen "What's wrong?"

"What's the squirts name?" Ron demanded, glaring at her as he continued to aim his knife in her general direction "Answer me!"

"Chibinosuke?" Nikia wondered, looking at the taller teen in confusion, only to blink as he sighed and lowered the knife.

"Sorry bout that…" Ron supplied "Kiriko are shape shifters, tricksters by nature. They can take any form and imitate someone right down to their voice, couldn't let ya get close without checking first."

"Ok…" Nikia reasoned, stepping closer to her fellow aspirant "So where's the one you were chasing earlier?"

"Out there…" Ron muttered, growling as the beast loosed a mocking cackle from the woods surrounding them "Led me here like a bull on a ring, now he's runnin' around throwin' off my sense of direction"

"What about the wife?" Nikia wondered, looking around the clearing in concern, even as the woman called out in alarm.

"Still got her…" Ron muttered grimly, his eyes narrowed in anger "Furry little bastard…I'll skin it alive if it's harmed one hair on her head!"

"We gotta lure it out first…" Nikia reasoned, eyeing the circle of trees warily, only to frown, leaping towards the nearest cluster with surprising speed, grabbing Ron's Knife in the process "There it is!"

"Hey!" Ron swore, looking up in anger as the girl made off with his weapon, only to blink as she hurled it at a nearby tree, the Kiriko pulling up short to avoid being perforated, giving Nikia time to leap forwards, her foot lashing out in a flying roundhouse kick that struck the beast on the back of it's head, sending it sprawling forwards with a howl, dropping it's prey in the process.

"CURSES!" the Kiriko swore, springing to its feet with a snarl as it rounded on Nikia, who'd scooped up the released woman in her arms, the beast's claws at the ready "You'll pay for that you little minx!"

"ORAH!" Ron bellowed, tackling the beast full on, putting it in a full nelson as it thrashed in his grip, his muscles bulging with the effort of keeping it in place "Nikia!" he called out, teeth gritting tight "Get her outta here! I'll hold it off!"

"No need." Nikia assured him, the wife blinking, only to choke as the foreign teen put her in a headlock, Ron's knife held at her throat "We're not going anywhere."

"You-!" Ron swore, his eyes widening in alarm, even as the beast froze in his grip "Don't tell me you're one of them!"

"Nope!" Nikia kitty-smiled, even as she pressed the tip of the knife against the startled wife's neck "But SHE is…isn't that right, Kiriko-chan?"

Ron blinked, only to look on in wonderment as the wife chuckled, her features elongating, becoming more vulpine, as whiskers and ears sprouted from her head.

"Someone want to tell me what the HELL is going on here?!" Chino demanded, the irate Knuckle Bomber standing downwind from the rest of his party as he glared at the husband, wife, and the pair of Kiriko that lined up before him "One minute I'm taking a dump, the next I'm locked in a roller coaster from hell with fuzzy over there!"

"Weren't no bed of roses for me neither." One of the Kiriko muttered, only identifiable from his mate in that SHE wasn't covered in waste "What the hell did you EAT kid?"

"I'd rather not know…" Dokuro muttered, covering his mouth with his handkerchief, even as Ron held his nose and Nikia waved a hand in front of her face "What I DO want to know is what's going on here? Where are the Navigators?"

"That would be US." The apparently female Kiriko explained, smiling at the group's confusion as she gestured to the 'husband' and 'wife', who now bore whiskers and Kiriko ears "These are our son and daughter, though how you realized they weren't human is beyond me."

"Dokuro noticed there was something off about me when he was applying first aid back in the cabin." The 'husband' explained, gesturing to the bandages still wrapped around him "Though he still managed to administer the necessary aid and support, even as he laid his trap."

"I'm curious as to how you noticed 'I' wasn't what I appeared to be." The 'Wife' asked Nikia, looking intrigued "What gave it away?"

"Your tattoos are all wrong." Nikia pointed out, earning a look of confusion from the men in the group "My mamma took me to a shrine once, and all the priestesses there had tattoos like that. It means they can't get married or have sex…" she shivered "She always used to threaten to put one on ME if I misbehaved…"

"You two never seemed to click at all." The male Kiriko noted with a hint of amusement, even as Chino and Ron rubbed the back of their heads in embarrassment "Still, it takes guts to take on a magical beast with your bare hands, most people couldn't hold their own against one of our kids, but you kept me and my wife on the ropes, though admittedly we weren't trying all that hard."

"I can go another round if you're up to it fuzz-face." Chino offered, rotating his shoulder eagerly as he grinned at the shape shifter.

"No need." The male offered with a hint of a nervous smile "You've already proven yourselves, so we'll take you straight to the exam hall."

"I think a BATH would be good first, dear." His mate countered with a pointed look in her vulpine eyes, which flicked towards a flushing Chino as well "I'm not flying next to you smelling like THAT."

"Yes dear…" the male sighed, before sprouting wings and latching onto Chino "There's a nearby lake we can soak off in, be back in a tick."

"Whoa-whoa-whoa!" Chino yelled, looking down in growing alarm "Lemme go! I can use the bath in the cabin! OIIIIIIII-!"

"Good grief…" Dokuro muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose even as Nikia giggled and Ron guffawed at the Knuckle Bomber's futile thrashing, the pair making an oddly shaped shadow against the full moon as the cackles of the Kiriko joined in.


End file.
